from the Tacoma News Tribune
American Lake: Disabled, wounded veterans enjoy first course with facilities designed for them
BRENT CHAMPACO; STAFF WRITER
The new 8,400-square-foot building at American Lake Veterans Golf Course has a putting green, a training room with a simulator, and a device called the “Explanar” to help straighten out a golfer’s swing.
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Next up: A nonprofit group is trying to raise $3 million to expand the 1955 nine-hole course into a full 18 holes – an effort backed by golfing legend Jack Nicklaus.
The Friends of American Lake Veterans Golf Course offered a peek Tuesday at its new learning center and its future plans.
One of the special guests was Gen. John Shalikashvili, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1993 to 1997. The decorated general suffered a debilitating stroke in 2004 and uses the course as part of his continued rehabilitation.
“I think this is really an exceptional building,” Shalikashvili said. “But what’s more important is that it’s such a great opportunity to play in inclement weather.”
Harold Roberts, the nonprofit group’s president and acting golf pro, said the sport provides the physical and mental therapy that’s so important to veterans suffering wartime problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
“A lot of people think golf is a physical therapy-type of thing,” he said. “Actually, I think it’s more of a mental game that will get these guys back on track.”
The Army donated 32 acres for the veterans golf course, and the group got approval from Washington, D.C., to convert it this month, Roberts said.
Nicklaus, who has won 18 major professional golf championships, has dedicated his golf course design team to the effort and is also co-chairman of the fundraising campaign.
He is a friend of Ken Still, a former professional golfer who lives in Fircrest.
The group hasn’t set a deadline for when it wants to complete the expansion. But if the Rehabilitation and Learning Center is any indication, veteran golfers have a lot to look forward to.
Volunteers raised enough money for its construction.
Frank Shaver, a 73-year-old Steilacoom resident and Army pilot who retired in 1984 after 25 years of service, helped a woman Tuesday with her golf swing using the simulator. He is one of the 167 volunteers who teach, operate and maintain the golf course.
Other perks for veterans include free use of specially designed carts, a buddy system that pairs disabled golfers with assistants who’ll play with them or set balls on tees, and sand traps that are handicap-accessible.
Jim Martinson used one of the carts Tuesday, steadying his hands on a 3-wood and launching balls down the driving range. He used the joystick on the cart to level his body as he made smooth swings toward the tee.
The 63-year-old Vietnam War veteran from Puyallup lost both his legs in combat to a mine explosion. He said he knows how important golf is to local veterans.
“It feels good,” Martinson said. “It’s a frustrating sport, but it feels fun.”
As for the cart, Martinson said, “I’ve never been in anything like this. This is great. It’s got all the bells and whistles.”
Roberts said interest in the course is growing. Although he didn’t offer annual numbers, the group did say veterans played more than 12,000 rounds between April and August last year – the most in recent memory.
Army Spc. Michael Ballard, 39, found himself in a tee box Tuesday for the first time in four years.
Ballard, a member of Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s Warrior Transition Battalion, was injured when a bomb blast shattered his leg in Afghanistan last year. After surgery and a return to the South Sound, he’s had a grueling road to recovery. He gradually has learned to shift his weight to a reconstructed leg.
“I think this is great,” he said of the course and its future. “This is getting me out. It’s perfect.”
And with that, Ballard connected on his first tee shot, creating a “ping” sound that’s music to any golfer’s ears.
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